Having heard the creaking sound made by the old boatman while ferrying, Meng Chang thought it was because the old man was reluctant to maintain the dilapidated fishing boat.
It wasn't until the fishing boat left the port that Mengchang discovered that the boat was comparable to a magic weapon, and the quality was absolutely in place. The noises under the boat were terrifying, and the squeaking sounds were all the flapping sounds of the vicious spirits at the bottom of the Wangchuan River. There were even... Some ghost hands climbed onto the fishing boat and tried to pull people directly from the boat into the water.
Liu Ting took out an oil lamp from her bag with some distress, looked at Meng Chang several times who was sitting on the bow of the boat looking at the water, and murmured loudly to himself.
"Old man, I really suffered a big loss. This is the magic lamp. Da Siming gave it to me to save my life. You see, there is not much oil left in this lamp. Every penny is lost."
Seeing Mengchang turn around and look over, Liu Ting immediately continued to complain with a sad face: "Oh, I don't usually have such a big reaction. I guess it's because there is the smell of living people on the boat today. If you don't click, it's impossible to say that the boat will be destroyed and no one will be killed." , click on it, what will the old man do if I punt the ferry in the future?"
Such poor acting skills are not even one-tenth of Ji Youyu's coquettish performance. Mengchang replied angrily: "I know, I know, Liu Ting, I remember this name. When I meet the great master, I will You must tell him all your hardships and let him arrange an errand for you in Youdu."
After hearing this answer, Liu Ting smiled, her old cheeks wrinkled with laughter, and she still said something arrogant.
"If it's not bitter, how can it be bitter? Everything is done for the common people and for the great gods of Houtu. Old man, I'm just getting old, and I want to live by the side of the great gods."
Liu Ting lit the oil lamp with satisfaction, and a scarlet firework flickered on the wick. There was a continuous flapping sound. The ghost hand that climbed up the bow of the boat seemed to be frightened, and instantly retracted to the bottom of the Wangchuan River. Unexpectedly, No more restlessness.
"Old Liu, do you know why Master Houtu moved the dojo to such a horrible place?"
"Hey, I'm an old man who punts the ferry. How can I know the thoughts of the Great God Hou Tu? However, this place was not like this before. It was after Hou Tu came that he diverted the Huangquan water and irrigated the Wangchuan River. This is how it became. The Jie Yin Mountain you can see now.”
Liu Ting didn't look back, and she no longer felt sorry for the lamp oil at this moment. She was holding the boat while chatting with Meng Chang.
"It's tiring to say it. It's not that I'm criticizing the master behind his back. It's just that I have been punting on the Wangchuan River for 1,731, 4 and 22 days. Before, I only needed ten and a half days. The ferry is once a month, and I can go back to Youdu in my free time, have a few drinks, and go fishing and cooking fish in Jie Yang Mountain with Shen Tu and Yu Lei. Life is pretty decent. To this day, I go back and forth five times a day. , this is really tiring.”
"As usual, there are never rules for washing sins under the Forgotten River and reincarnating again, but it doesn't work now, and I don't understand what is going on in this world. There are more and more new souls, and more and more people are dying. , if another thousand years had passed, it would probably not only be the old man and I ferrying the problem, but also the Youdu City would not be able to accommodate more wandering souls. In ancient times, the wandering souls were everywhere, and the ghosts were all over the sky. It’s about to happen again.”
Therefore, Master Houtu seems to be really restarting reincarnation!
Originally, Hou Tu, as the central god who guards the earth, already has great authority. It can be said that heaven and earth are equal, and earth and sky are equal. The sky is the God of Haotian, and the earth is the great god Hou Tu.
As a human race, it cannot be said to be on an equal footing with God Haotian, but for a god, he has expanded the functions of God to the greatest extent, and now he has added to himself the authority to control reincarnation, or the authority to control the ghost world. , Houtu will surely become the most unquestionable and blasphemous of all gods.
Listening to Liu Ting's description, it seems that the reincarnation of Hou Tu's reopening is not very sound. Facing the stumbling growth of the human race's population, it is now somewhat stretched. The wandering souls are stranded on the banks of the Wangchuan River, using the Wangchuan to relieve the pressure of reincarnation.
There was no Naihe Bridge, so they relied on small boats to ferry him. He somewhat understood Liu Ting's difficulties. It was indeed quite tiring, and without Po Meng around, the vast Wangchuan River looked as disgusting as pus and blood. If this were put in In modern cities, I am afraid that not all the accumulated souls are enough to fill the Forgotten River.
He continued to chat with Liu Ting for a few words, and when he asked the Master Hou Tu for more details, the old Liu Ting hesitated and couldn't give a general situation. Meng Chang stopped talking and sat quietly on the bow of the boat, watching. The waveless Wangchuan River, and the lingering thick fog in this world.
The sea of misery is boundless. After sailing for about an hour, the scenery on the other shore barely emerged from the thick fog. The other shore flowers were also in full bloom, and there was also a long queue of wandering souls. In front of the queue of wandering souls, there were more ports than where they came from. The outline of a city-state was vague, rising and falling with the thick fog.
"Is that Youdu?"
"Yes, young master, that is the Youdu City that we, the Houtu clan, built two thousand years ago with a piece of soil and a handful of sand."
Old Liu Ting seemed a little nostalgic. Although he did not have this tolerable supernatural power, his life was very good and carefree. During the period after Dayu succeeded in controlling the flood, he was the happiest. The happiest memories.
Old Liu Ting's wrinkled old hands rummaged through the bag and found a bone flute that had been polished to a shiny white color and handed it over.
"The next level is Guimen Pass, which is the gate of Youdu City guarded by the two door gods Shen Tu and Yu Lei. They are not as easy to talk to as the old man. This bone flute has been with me for more than a thousand years. They two know each other. Young Master, give this to them, maybe it can help you."
"After entering Youdu City, go straight to the center of the city. First go to the Reincarnation Hall to see the Great Siming, otherwise you won't be able to see the Great God Houtu. Remember, you are meeting the Great Siming, not the Young Master. If you If you encounter the latter, the old man can only ask for your own blessings."
Da Si Ming, the god of life and death in the Chu State, is one of the high-ranking gods of the Chu State.
Shao Siming, the goddess in charge of fertility and heirs in the Chu region, is responsible for the birth of new children, and has some authority to protect the growth of young children and marriage.
Zhu Rong was born in Gonggong, and Gonggong was born in Houtu. During the Emperor Zhuanxu's time, when Zhu Rong was granted the title of Southern Fire God, he went to Jingchu. Later generations of Chu State often regarded Zhu Rong as their ancestor, while Da Siming and Shao Si Ming was the original god of the Chu State. I don’t know if it was from this period that the Chu culture and the Central Plains culture began to merge, and Da Siming and Shao Siming also came together with the Houtu clan.
Well, it is worth mentioning that in the Nine Songs of Chu Ci, Shao Siming is the most beautiful goddess in the Chu land. Putting aside the dangers Liu Ting mentioned, it would be a great thing to have a glimpse of her appearance.
"Why should we be careful about Shao Siming? Could it be that she has a bad temper and likes to get angry?"
Lao Liuting looked a little weird. He wanted to talk a few times but gave up. He just thought that half of the oil in his lamp had been burned. He still expected him to give a few good words to the great gods. He didn't ask for a promotion or a salary increase, as long as he didn't let him do it again. Just ferry. After more than a thousand years of ferrying, he felt that he was already numb. If he continued the ferry, he really wanted to throw all the wandering souls into the Wangchuan River.
Performing an action over and over again for a long time can make even a tough person feel bored and lonely.
"Well, it's hard to describe in one sentence. Anyway, you have to pass by Shaoshi Palace, and you will also see strange creatures in various forms. Once you see it, you will naturally understand how scary it is. I can't say more, I can only stop here. "
Mengchang felt a little nervous inside because of these instructions, but he was still one of his own, so he shouldn't be in trouble with him.
The boat docked. After Mengchang got off the boat, he bowed respectfully to the uneasy old man on the boat. In any case, this man had helped him a lot.
"My young master, you must remember that the old man's name is Liu Ting. Please tell the Great God Hou Tu about "Old Liu Ting" and he will know who I am."
"Don't worry, I will remember it and I will tell him."
Watching Meng Chang's retreating figure, Liu Ting kept wiping the sweat from his palms. Until Meng Chang disappeared into the mist, he couldn't help shouting again: "Please remember, my name is Liu Ting, Liu Ting, the judge of the Water Department on the banks of the Xiangshui River."
Hearing the voice behind him, Mengchang couldn't help but smile, and walked silently towards Youdu City without saying anything in response.
This old fisherman is quite interesting. He is obviously a selfish character, but he is willing to ferry thousands of years on the Wangchuan River. It is understandable that he wants to retire. After all, no one wants to stick to one thing for the rest of his life and continue doing it forever, no matter Liu. Regardless of Ting's mention, he also wanted to express his thoughts on the issue of the Wangchuan River and the Great God Houtu.
Walking on the gravel road, a long queue of people continued to move forward. Compared with when he first entered the cave entrance, Meng Chang had already put away the golden stick and was not so reserved and nervous. No matter how terrifying the scene was, After seeing it too much, you will have a certain immunity. Now looking at these wandering souls, he felt a little pity for them.
I wonder if I will meet Liu Ting again when I die one day, and if the old man can stop throwing him into the Wangchuan River and let him go directly to reincarnation.
As for the human race, he has never thought about immortality.
After advancing for a while, a gate gradually appeared in the mist. Two stone pillars were a hundred feet high, and the vault in the middle was carved with various sacred characters. Unfortunately, Mengchang could not recognize this kind of characters that were very different from the mountains and seas, the present world, and the Cangjie script. Just looking at the shape, I blindly guessed: The gate of hell is closed!
Two huge black and blue stone doors are carved with two strong figures. On the left door leaf, wearing colorful battle armor, with a majestic face and a powerful posture. The one holding a golden halberd is Shen Tu. On the right door leaf, naturally, Yu. Lei, wearing a black battle robe, looked relaxed and comfortable. There were no magic weapons or sharp weapons in his hands. He just stretched out a palm and caressed the huge golden-eyed white tiger sitting next to him.
"Great Wilderness Northern Classic": There is a mountain called Dushuo in the vast sea. There is a big peach tree on it. It is bent for three thousand miles. The northeastern branch between its branches is called the ghost gate, where all ghosts come and go. There are two gods on it, one is Shen Tu and the other is Yu Lei, who oversee and lead all ghosts.
These two now guard the ghost gate of Youdu City, and they are often called door gods. Until Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong, they have always been the model door gods spread by Jingchu culture.
After the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism competed, and the prototype of the underworld was born. The two men continued to guard the ghost gate, but they added a very powerful title: the Eastern Ghost Emperor. It's just that they are not as famous as Yu Chigong and Qin Qiong.
At this time, the two door gods on the Shimen mural had their eyes closed tightly, as if they were lifeless. They were just two ordinary stone murals.
Countless wandering souls were walking forward, slowly passing through the gap in the middle of the gate. Meng Chang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and jumped into the queue of wandering souls. He embarrassedly said sorry to a potbellied wandering soul brother behind him. , trying to follow directly into the ghost gate.
When Meng Chang was finally in line, the two door gods slowly opened their eyes, and the white tiger under Yu Lei stared at Meng Chang with a pair of golden eyes.
"This is the territory of Youdu City, no living person should enter!"
"Boy, why do you, a living person, come to the realm of the dead? Where is Old Liutou? Can he let you in?"
I want to try this section, just like Dante's Divine Comedy, reading the ancient ghost world in the East, and then combining it with the background setting of the book to show it. It won't be too long, and it will be done bit by bit. At that time, the ghost mansion was not well established.
(End of chapter)
